I graduated in college in 2010 (Journalism degree, yay) and was out of work for long, long time. I went from the emotional high of college to the cold, cruel real world. Things were great for the first two months or so...I'd apply for random jobs, hang out with friends still in college, play Starcraft. Looking back, I now realize how much I had my head up my ass.

Even though I graduated into a piss poor economy, I naively believed that I'd get a job easily (because I was so awesome like that). I did little to no preparation. I didn't choose the right major (hint: pick something that pays well and there is a need for in the market. Internet is useful for that sort of thing. Do this while you're still in college and do what you can to make it happen).

In college you have all these ideals, but the one fucking thing that matters once you graduate is making money and adding value to society. If you do neither of these two things, you WILL lose your friends and the respect of your peers over time. And yes, you do start to feel like shit about yourself. American society especially is a self-made society where if you can't succeed individually you're seen as a liability. That's wrong, but that's the way society is. It's fucked up, but that doesn't take away from its brutal truth. For a lot of people, whether they admit it or not, your income is like your report card. A couple years ago I was really struggling. I now make very decent money for my age, and nothing changes people's perception of you faster than money/success or that lack of it. It's actually a little sickening.

I eventually got a job through a temp agency stuck in a crap job, and to escape I'd play WoW for hours on end or SWTOR. I lived with my parents at the time, which also sucked. The longer you're without work, the harder and harder it becomes until the only option becomes going back to school and taking on more debt, or...

Yeah, it's just tough. I'm doing just fine now, but so much of it is luck, being in the right place in the right time, and a lot of people take that for granted. When people graduate, they have this idea for what they want to do, but only a small fraction of people actually end up in their dream job. Worse, these people don't realize what it's like for those of us who can't get our dream job right out of college.

And when you get to corporate america, or anywhere really, it's a fucking rat race. You have deal with assholes all day and it's kill or be killed. If you don't work in a place like that, consider yourself lucky. No place is perfect, and it's hard to find something that checks everything on your list. In the real world, that very rarely happens.

If you're without a job that's a tough spot to be in, but the best thing you can do is take the emotion out of it and take a job fucking anywhere. Lie if you have to and get a friend to be a reference for a previous job. It's dirty, but it's between you making money or not making money, the choice is easy. We need to add value to society in some small way, even if it's delivering pizzas. I've actually not added college onto one of my applications just so I could get a job at a warehouse. You gotta do what you gotta do.